Luck O' the Irish

This St. Patty's Day was too much fun, plus, it was on a Friday! We has little green monsters all over the building last week, myself included. To celebrate St. Patrick's Day, I read two of the new books we purchased with our $5,000 grant. Of course they are similar, but I would have never guessed that they would have been as perfectly matched as they were! 

How to Catch a Leprechaun by Adam Wallace had some pretty fun illustrations of how you might set up a trap to catch a leprechaun. The absence of the leprechaun's face made the reader more intrigued, and just like the classic movie that keeps the suspect's face hidden, this book has similar mystery!

The Night Before St. Patrick's Day shows how a brother and sister are sure to catch a leprechaun with all the nifty traps they set. Side note: I did not know the leprechauns are supposedly mischievous? Both stories this week, spoiler alert, showed the leprechauns causing some major chaos. I suppose need to read up on my Irish folklore!

Each book is a fun and easy read and perfect for youngsters wanting to set some leprechaun traps next year!

Press Here for Giggles and Squeals!

I knew I loved this book but I had no idea how much the students would love it until we read it last week. It was such a success, I am already looking into similar books to purchase before the year ends.

Get ready as the book instructs you to press, blow, and clap along to make the dots change shape, color, order and size! The kids were roaring with laughter and screaming from excitement. It was too much fun!

Good news - there are more books like this one from Herve Tullet! Click here link for Amazon (personal favorite) details and pricing!

Love All Around

February is full of eventful days. Groundhogs Day, President's Day, Valentine's Day, etc. We only have a few weeks to cram in fun Valentine books before the day comes and goes and the kids are on to the next fun thing.

This week we read the Love Monster by Rachel Bright. I love that it's love at first sight for the kids. One of the pages talks about how he's googly-eyed and not-so-cute, but the kids beg to differ!

This book is about self-acceptance and learning to love your differences, even when it feels a little lonely. I drew and copied a Love Monster for the students to color - BIG hit! :)

Love from the Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle has many familiar characters, written in Valentine form. It is a quick read, but super sweet and fun. 

Lastly, I have been purchasing books like CRAZY lately, annual library funds, grant money, library donations, etc. One of the orders came in this week with the cutest, tongue-twister of a book called A Greyhound and a Groundhog by Emily Jenkins and illustrations by Chris Appelhans. It looks adorable and while it may not be about a groundhog seeing his shadow, this is one watercolor groundhog you won't be able to resist! 

A Wintery Week with Jan Brett

Happy New Year! It has been a crazy winter for us so far this year. We were meant to return to school on January 4th and have had six snow days between then and now! And add Martin Luther King Jr. day into the mix... needless to say, we're all walking around like martians, trying to get back into the swing of things! 

January in the library is always filled with all the winter-y things: snowmen, snowflakes, mittens, hot cocoa, etc. This week we are reading The Mitten and Trouble with Trolls by Jan Brett. Reading these this week brought back memories from when I read them as a kid and the cleverness of each story. They are so fun and mischievous and have some pretty amazing pictures to go along with.

Just how many creatures can fit inside this snow-white glove? Read the story and find out!

We discussed that these trolls do not have pretty colored hair, since the movie trolls came out recently, the students loved the trickery all the same! 

There's weatherman rumor that more snow is on its way, so bundle up... it was 2 degrees this morning... hang on to your mittens and watch out for dog-snatching trolls!

Countdown to the Big Break!!

I think the staff are just as anxious to get out for the holiday break as the students are. On the days it snows, the kids are WILD and on top of colds and the flu and all other sorts of set backs, I think it is safe to say we are ready for a break :)

One of my favorite weeks of the whole year is the week before Christmas break. A wonderful local church brings every student and staff member a gift. Over 500 gifts come pouring in and the students light up! They make the staff a wonderful lunch, which this year was soup and salad and the best gingerbread cookies I have ever tasted! I like to end the week on a cheery note so I save "The Night Before Christmas" by Clement Clark Moore for very last. There are several different copies out there but there is even an online copy on getepic.com that is so fun to use.

I love this site SO much. It gives a different view of reading books to our students and if we don't have something in our library, I can usually find something on Epic!

There are so many great books and not quite enough time but we were able to squeeze in Dr. Seuss "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" and the cartoon before we leave. 

Many other great Winter holiday titles we featured this month in our library are shown below. We are so grateful for the diversity at our school and all the cultures we get to experience. Wishing you the happiest holidays now please excuse me while I countdown the hours until the break... ;)

December is here!

One of my favorite times of the year...December. All around, things change shape. Snow falls, lights glow and we all seem to care a little bit more. I have been looking at my collection since November, trying to figure out what books I can read in the three and a half weeks before we get out for the break!

This week, we did "A Cookie for Santa" by Stephen Shaw. The story is about a super cookie who helps save Christmas and becomes a friend to Santa instead of a treat! Once again, another fun rhyming book that the kids adore!

"The Last Christmas Tree" by Stephen Krensky is so sweet and the illustrations by Pascal Campion are darling!! The kids are very sweet and take a liking to the little tree right away even though no one else does in the story. In the end, the little tree ends up finding the best home of all.... at the North Pole!

I wish it offered more images online so I could show you the art inside the book, but I guess that just means you will need to read it and find out for yourself - you won't be disappointed! 

Getting into Giving Thanks

This month is cut a week short for the Thanksgiving holiday break so I have three perfect books to read to get your kids in the Turkey Day spirit.

Thanksgiving for Emily Ann by Teresa Johnston is SO cute! It's about a little girl who is not liking having to share her home when family comes to stay for the holiday, so she gets a little mischievous.

I'm no Turkey by Hans Wilhelm is such an easy read but the kids love the silliness each page holds!

This Is the Turkey by Abby Levine is the picture perfect traditional Thanksgiving until something goes wrong and the turkey that has been cooking all day slips off the plate!

The moral of this story is that we are grateful for everything we have and even if we don't have everything we wanted or expected, there is still plenty to be thankful for. 

We get out tomorrow for a lovely week-long holiday vacation and want to wish you all the Happiest Thanksgiving!